Nissan Group's U.S. sales surged in August, propelled by robust crossover demand.
Combined Nissan and Infiniti U.S. sales rose 13 percent from a year earlier to 127,230 vehicles in August.
Nissan Division sold 118,045 vehicles for the month, up 16 percent from a year earlier. Infiniti sales slid 15 percent to 9,185 vehicles.
Nissan Group's strong sales performance came despite a power outage late last month that crippled the automaker's business operations and retail network across North America for nearly four days. Nissan and Infiniti dealers were unable to order vehicles and parts, obtain product rebate information or check on vehicle recalls.
In a market heavily favoring crossovers, SUVs and pickups, Nissan brand's light-truck sales rose 16 percent from a year earlier. For the year, the brand's truck sales were down 2.9 percent.
Demand for Nissan's entry-level Kicks crossover surged 82 percent last month, while Frontier truck sales climbed 29 percent.
Nissan's car lineup gained 16 percent the strength of the Altima (up 50 percent) and Maxima (up 30 percent). The other five Nissan car nameplates dropped.
For August, Infiniti car sales were down 31 percent, while truck sales fell 7.4 percent. The luxury brand suffered year-over-year declines across all nameplates except the QX60 crossover (up 22 percent).
Brands: Nissan up 16%; Infiniti down 15%
Notable nameplates: Nissan Titan, down 44%; Nissan Maxima, up 30%; Nissan Altima, up 50%; Nissan Versa, down 10%; Nissan Rogue, up 25%; Nissan Frontier, up 29%; Infiniti QX50, down 25%.
Incentives: $4,167 per vehicle, down 4.9% from a year earlier, ALG says.
Average transaction price: $26,751, down 0.9% from a year earlier, according to ALG.
Did you know? August was the best month ever for NV commercial van sales with 2,503 sold, up 77 percent.
